giving a deposit back

paulburton44

paulburton44

Well-Known Member
Joined
29 Jul 2004
Messages
681
Location
Sleaford
www.withamsailingclub.co.uk
I thought I had sold my boat on Friday....got £500 cash deposit and the rest to be given upon collection.

Over the weekend the purchaser has pulled out due to lack of funds and now wants his deposit back.....!!!!

Should I give it back to him ?????????
 
It would be reasonable to return the deposit with a deduction to cover the cost of re-advertising and any other costs incurred over the period you thought the boat was sold; power, berthing etc.
Unless you have it in writing that the deposit is non-returnable, that is.
 
What did he give you a deposit for if it's returnable? He just wanted a bit of time to make his mind up but stop anyone else buying it.
I would certainly deduct re-advertising and tell him you've turned somone else away since he gave you the deposit so you want some buggeration costs as well.


Let's face it. You've got the money so it's your call.
 
tell him you have deposited it in a notice account so it will take 21 days to get it out. He may recover from his panic attack by then and go ahead with the purchase..If not give him it back in 3 weeks time.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Should I give it back to him ?????????

[/ QUOTE ] Depends on how nice a guy you want to be. By giving you the deposit he has made a contract with you to buy the boat at the agreed price within a specified time period. You don't strictly have to give him a penny back and you could in fact sue him for the rest (and you would succeed).
What you do is up to you, no-one would blame you for keeping all the deposit, although I think taking him to court for the rest would be a bit mean. Equally only a few of us would think you daft to give it all back. Perhaps you should keep some. If he turns nasty on you though, sue him for the lot plus storage, interest, costs, everything.
 
This is a sale contract. My (non professional) understanding of contract law is that three tests have to be satisfied. Offer,acceptance and consideration (payment). So a contract did exist the purchaser made you an offer, you ( the seller) accepted it and the buyerpaid a deposit, the final step in creating a binding contract. Assuming collection was to be a date in the next few days and not open ended (either expressed or implied) then when the purchaser fails to complete you would be entitled to sue for successful comnpletion of the contract. I would imagine then you would be free to offer the boat for sale after the final payment time limit has elapsed.

It may be the buyer is attempting, too late, to obtain a price reduction or has seen a boat at lower price, maybe a mate has told him it is too expensive!

Starting from the position that the deposit is forfeit due to non performance of the contract due to lack of payment you could sell the boat and if you felt it appropriate return the deposit less any costs including reduction in price involved in selling again.

If you are likely to be concience stricken about the whole thing or the buyer is a member of your club or local commnunity you might be happier if returned the deposit and continue to try to sell.

Good luck hope it all works out for all involved.
Advice given with no responsibility, action is your resposibility and if you are unsure take professional advice.
 
MMMmmmmmm....

The guy is not local and I have never met him before...

I agreed to pay for a lift onto HIS organised transport within the next 2 weeks.

I have a hand written reciept written by his wife and signed by both of us. He agreed to pay the balance upon collection.
No survey was going to be carried out.

My guess is that I give him £400 back allowing for readvertising costs etc.

The thing is I have been trying to sell this boat for a couple of months and this was the first person to view...

I also had some one lined up to view the following day......I have tried recontacting him.

Feel to guilty keeping the full £500....
Thanks for all the advise.
 
Depends on how nice you're feeling and how honest he seemed to be.

If you pay a deposit, you have a contract that says you agree to lose the deposit if you pull out. On the other hand you will have an easy time claiming any costs incured if the seller pulls out.

I've never had been let down selling a boat but have on 2 occasions selling a car.

The first was when the guys said he "only needed another 2 or 3 months to" come up with the money and he started to threaten me as soon as I sugested he was being unreasonable. The second guy just paid the deposit to stop me selling to someone else and then tried to pull out a day later having found another car.

In both cases I'd have kept it. In the first case, isn't it logical to work out how much money you have to spend before you go looking. In the second the guy was just taking the p..s". I'd accepted a cheque as deposit and it was cencelled when I tried to cash it.

If it was me and I thought the guy was genuine, I'd give hime the deposit back less anything he's cost me. If not I'd keep the lot.
 
send him a recorded delivery letter telling him you have a binding contract and that you expect him to honour same within the time agreed ( ie 2 weeks i presume ). tell him that if he does not honour the contract by taking possession of the boat and paying the balance due you will consider him to be in breach of contract and you will be obliged to take steps to minimise your losses. since these losses can not be quantified at present you intend to retain the £500 and further advise him that if your losses exceed said sum you reserve the right to pursue him in the courts.
try that. i hope you have his name and address.
ps keep a copy of the letter and don`t let the rd slip or your £500 receipt out of your sight.
 
As I said, a whole spectrum of opinion. No-one would blame you whatever you did, it's up to you, just do what you want to do.
 
Keeping that £100 is most reasonable - go with your conscience. Selling a boat can be very hard work. Lots of dreamers, keel kickers etc. The guy in your case was just a classic chancer - if he had enough money to buy on Friday how come he did not on Saturday. Keep trying. It is people like him who keep brokers in business.
 
Does he want cash back or a cheque (make sure he is not money laundering).

Otherwise - give him his deposit back. Can't really see that you can justify covering any 'extra' costs unless you are having to pay for anything extra as a direct result of him making the offer. If you were going to re-advertise anyway then can't see this as a justification either.
 
I deal with deposits in my business and was advised that a deposit is normally refundable in law. For that reason I changed from asking for a deposit to asking for a retainer.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Mind you, what is the point in having a deposit at all if it is refundable. Might as well not have one in the first place!

[/ QUOTE ]

If the buyer gets the seller to hold the goods for him, then what does the seller get? To feel the weight of £500 for a day or two, or the certainty that his time was not wasted.
 
What is the moral position of a timewaster who has most likely told a load of porkies and rubbished several days of someone's life. Plus possibly also having lost him the chance to sell to a genuine buyer.
 
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